Children
are once again pinned to the cultural dart board as Lucifer targets
their souls. Hollywood remains the satanic toady of choice with the
latest weapon being “The Golden Compass,” a polished and clever bit
of celluloid starring the fetching Nicole Kidman. It is due out just
in time to insult both Hanukkah and Christmas.

Concerns
arise at the stealth nature of the movie, a dumbed-down version of
book-one in “His Dark Materials,” the award-winning British trilogy
for children by atheist Phillip Pullman who said in 2003, “My books
are about killing God.” He purposes that youngsters “decide against
God and the kingdom of heaven.”

“The
film is based on the least offensive of the three books…the producers
are watering down the most despicable elements.” says William Donohue,
President of the Catholic League. “The fact remains that the movie
is bait for the books.”

Odds
are that Tinsel-town buzz will propel kids to the movie; they will
love it and beg for the books in which Christianity is labeled “a
powerful and convincing mistake.” The legitimate fear is that children’s
righteous trajectory and fledgling faith, which innately gravitate
toward belief, will be compromised - even axed.

What’s
a devout parent to do?

E-mails
already circumnavigate the globe alerting families to this latest
soul assault. Some theologians are calling for a boycott which is
every marketer’s dream, a surefire revenue booster as the forbidden-fruit
dynamic kicks in.

Families
must shun obvious anti-God maliciousness, but efforts on behalf of
children should focus more on “prepare and equip” than on “protect.”
We can’t shield our tykes from every pedagogue and playmate used by
Apollyon in his ongoing campaign to dethrone God.

Scripture
exhorts us that all hell will incrementally break loose until it becomes
a deluge but El Shaddai never called us to raise kids as cloistered
hot-house flowers. Rather, they are to be trained as stout defenders
of truth and opponents of blasphemy – an achievable goal when families
work in tandem with the Holy Spirit.

Pivotal
in children’s spiritual schooling is an intimate relationship with
God. If we are to offset the no-God lie, kids need to know God - not
in theory but in reality.

A
recent Associated Press/MTV poll among 13-24 year-olds reinforced
the obvious fact that dedicated parents outpace peers, school and
media in terms of influence. So it follows that folks who honor God
in worship, attitude, word and behavior model Him before their children.

Prayer
is another vehicle by which God makes Himself known. Praying children
are soon immune to the suggestio falsi that heaven doesn’t hear.

God
also speaks from the Bible. It is a user-friendly, divinely inspired
manual that should be every child’s primary text. Scripture is replete
with time-tested directives for abundant life coupled with warnings
against reckless folly. Included is the history of exemplary lives
and calamitous rebels. The Bible is an analytical study of ignorance,
defeat, rescue and triumph. It strengthens the young and the old,
wise or simple.

And
with a little practice, kids discover power in the name of Jesus.

Almost
three decades back, a night terror announced its presence via the
screams of our very small daughter. “Jesus, Jesus,” was her quivering
response, followed by silence then sleep. Late the next night, a barely-audible
refrain of “Jesus loves me, this I know” alerted us that she was again
enlisting the Almighty in her mini spiritual skirmish. Soon the spook,
real or imagined, abandoned her bedroom.

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To
survive this increasingly perverse and recalcitrant culture, only
children raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord will thrive.
And in years hence, when a sour, ignorant soul or institution says,
“There is no God,” more than one such child of God will enthusiastically
reply, “Oh, but you’re wrong, He lives. I know him personally. Let
me introduce you.”

Bible
Byte: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble,
it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around
his neck, he had been cast into the sea.” Mark 9:42

From
1985 to 2002, Ellen Brewster (Makkai) wrote for several major metropolitan
editorial pages, a well-known website, Creator's Syndicate and a national
Christian publication. Her columns provided a counterpoint to the vast
majority of secular writers who frequently discount or insult the faith
community. The small feature, "Bible Byte," offset daily horoscopes in
one local newspaper.

Concerns
arise at the stealth nature of the movie, a dumbed-down version of book-one
in “His Dark Materials,” the award-winning British trilogy for children
by atheist Phillip Pullman who said in 2003, “My books are about killing
God.”